Shallow Water
by Apotheosis.Scribere
Summary: He was supposed to be a beacon of light, a ray of hope, yet he was dimmed before he got a chance to shine. Sakura now left in a cold world without the presence of her teammate and brother has to find a new way to live and survive, and a turbulent path it is destined to be. Sakura-centric


" **Change will come for you, whether you like it or not."**

 **::**

She looked into those confident azure eyes, his grin never wavering although blood and dirt smeared it. His eyes held every ounce of devotion and love she wished she could return, but he expected nothing. That was why he was her best friend, her brother. Her lips curled into a smile, returning his sentiments silently, she clenched his hand with her own.

"Let's finish this."

Naruto's voice boomed although her ears were clogged with the ringing of past explosions. Together they turned to their opponent, their fallen comrade.

His pure desperation swirled crazily in his glowing red eye, his usually immaculate face marred with scars and bruises. Sasuke gasped heavily, clutching his side that bled red, making Sakura eye him worryingly.

 _They would bring him home this time, together._

Her hand glowed green as it encased Naruto's, while he and his clones on the left to him form a familiar blue orb of energy. She readied her stance, her breaths coming in short pants. Sasuke brought lifted his hand towards the heavens, a nasty sneer crossing his face as he stared at them. Sakura felt her own lips tighten as Naruto readied to jump.

Without a sound they took off with a slow gait that quickly gained speed, however a power surged over the battlefield, making the duo stumble slightly as a great looking beast thing crackled from the skies above. Sakura felt her eyes widen marginally as she took in the huge creation.

Naruto however was not one to be phased in the midst of battle, threw his rasenshuriken towards the beast, Sasuke cackling loudly from afar. Sakura felt her green chakra crawled up Naruto's arm to protect them from the ramification for taking on a powerful jutsu with another powerful jutsu.

Lightening met wind, the former a usual victor against the later. However Sasuke's jutsu was something else, raw unbridled energy, an unrelenting force, something that Sasuke summoned yet had no control over. It pushed against Naruto's infamous jutsu, forming with it and growing stronger to Sakura's dread. It pushed and pushed, gaining more ground and barreling towards the ground, towards Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto, his quickness not caught by Sakura until the last moment, he turned and pushed her, yet as she flew back her grip did not waver from Naruto's hand. He looked at her with surprised eyes and she met him with the same wide eyes as a blindingly white light consumed the battlefield.

::

::

Her body weighed itself into the dirt, as if wanting to sink and bury itself right then and there. Her senses dulled, she did feel the hand of another in her own, loose unlike her iron grip. Sakura's body was hot and burned with an overuse of her regenerative healing.

The thought made her peel her eyes open, thankful that the storm clouds that dulled the brightness around her. She let a few deep breaths, gathering herself as she slowly began to move and twitch her appendages, getting a feel of things. Finally she gained enough feeling to turn her head to face Naruto.

Mint eyes widened and her lip trembled as her eyes were not met with blonde hair. There was nothing, nothing except and arm that laid beside her, hand limp in her own.

At first nothing escaped her lips, only a quivering as she took in the scene of a cold and dead hand that held her owns.

"N-Naruto…" she whispered, her voice harsh with use. Rolling to her side, she looked around the abandoned battle field, frantic eyes darting around.

"Naruto. Naruto!" Her voice grew stronger, as she pried her hand away from the lost arm. She got up in a crawling position, looking for anything as she shakily stood up.

"Naruto!" She screamed, her voice cracking. She repeated the name as a mantra, screaming it as she looked around the battlefield, a fine layer of ash settled onto the ground. Sakura stirred it as she ran around, wailing her teammates name.

Time passed as she stumbled around, falling and sobbing as no one answered. As she dropped to her knees, her shoulders shook as she held in tears. It wasn't until she looked up she saw a glint of something, dulled by ash. Her hand trembled as she reached out, grabbing an untouched gemstone, shinning with a radiance that was not natural.

She had only cast glimpses of the said gem that Naruto always kept safely tucked away under his jumper. Their used to be a chain, but it was as it was cleaning cut off.

It cut into her palm as she clenched her hand around it, letting out a broken wail as she curled into herself. Her heart clenched painfully and she wished she would've just died. She should be with him, not here without _him._ Better yet, she should be gone and him still here. He was needed, he was a beacon of hope of a darkening world.

Another mournful sob clawed at her throat as her nails dug into the ground.

 _This was not how it was supposed to go._

::

::

When Kakashi arrived, the signs of battle were obvious. Everything was dead or mowed down for miles around, and as he approached the heart of the battlefield, his keen ears picked up a horrible moan of pain. He rushed forward, the back-up team following closely behind him.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw a petite figure, covered in ash kneeling with her head bowed to the ground, the cries still emitting from her. Kakashi was quickly by her side, fast to take his flak jacket and shirt off and wrap her in it, seeing as her clothes were barely there anymore.

"Sakura," he whispered, lifting up her face, it was horribly blotched and her eyes bloodshot. His lone eye took in her look of complete heartbreak, his own look hardened. "Sakura. What happened."

Her face crumpled at his question as she leaned her head into his shoulder, unable to look at him.

"H-He… he's gone." Her voice was so quiet he almost missed it, then her sobbing came back full force, her fingers digging painfully into his forearms.

"Naruto's gone," she cried louder, her whole frame shaking. Kakashi took in the news with only a widening of eyes, his mask covering any other sign of emotion.

"I'm sorry," she repeated over and over. Kakashi said nothing as he picked her up, cradling her and taking her back to his back-up team.

"Genma. Take her back to Konoha. I will take care of the investigation here, send for more detailed personnel."

The man in question looked as if he was about to argue with the team captain, but refrained from doing so seeing the state of his female student. Kakashi, with all the gentleness he could muster, moved her into Genma's arms, the girl still mumbling through her sobs. Kakashi tucked his forfeited shirt around her, keeping her modestly covered.

"Be quick," was Kakashi's only command before the man took off with Sakura. The wind whipped the girl's cheeks, making her cry harder.

"Shhh, sweetheart, it's going to be okay." Genma whispered the lie easily, the practically delusional girl seemed to calm at his voice, falling into a restless sleep.

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 **Should I have started a new fic in the midst of trying to catch up to my others ones? Probably not, but this idea would NOT get out of my head. I never thought of avenger Sakura, and I like the thought of it. It's going to be a challenge, because I don't want her to just suddenly become badass Sasuke-like. Nah, she going to come into her own avenger, a proper one must I add.**

 **I really want to focus on Sakura's development, but there will be a few twists in this story. Pretty much starts a few months after Kakuzu and Hidan are killed. My story elongates the Naruto story, so everything doesn't just happen right after each other, it takes a few months between each usual chapters so things can be steady. If that makes sense.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **(I do not own any Naruto characters)**

 **-Apotheosis**


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